


So Where Did I Go Wrong?

by ronnieroseduke



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Schönberg/Boublil, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: Other, genderbent combeferre!, please i don't know, take my humble offering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:14:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29285133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ronnieroseduke/pseuds/ronnieroseduke
Summary: Fucking hell. I’m overthinking. Again. Dear lord, where did I go wrong?!Combeferre frowns at her laptop. She can’t stop thinking about it. The encounter with her soulmate. How rudely she’d pushed them away. How they’d never come to the Musain again because of how shitty she was, how they would hate her fore-Snap out of it, Dani.Ferre grumbles and shuffles a bit in her seat, thunking her head on the keyboard, resulting in a keysmash on her screen as she groans, black hair falling forward over her head."Damn you Courfeyrac," she mutters.~a coffee shop au. thank my rp friends for this ndfgjhsdfkjghsdkfg
Relationships: Combeferre/Courfeyrac (Les Misérables), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Kudos: 2





	1. In Which Combeferre Meets Her Soulmate and is Sorely Disappointed

**Author's Note:**

> hey! thanks for looking!  
> enjoy it :D  
> ily all <3

Dani Combeferre glares at the string on her finger, staring like her life depends on it. It's the third day it's been there now, and somehow, nobody, not Enjolras, not Bossuet, nor Bahorel or Jehan, absolutely nobody can see it. It's red, long, and passes through objects. She can't tug it off. Ferre stares at her finger, which she's holding up, its red blindingly bright in stark contrast to her deep blue ceiling. Lying upwards in bed, surrounded by her piles of books. She can't find anything on the string. Annoyed, Ferre tries to fumble with her finger, to no avail, gives up and starts getting dressed for work.

The bell on the cafe's door jingles cheerfully as Ferre walks in, a frown on her face. Enjolras notices it.  
"Dani Combeferre. What's wrong?"  
Ferre just grunts and holds her finger up.  
"Come on, Ferre, there's nothing there. Just- ignore it, whatever it is, okay? I'm sure it's nothing," says Enjolras, making a coffee now.  
"Listen, Enjolras- I have done. My. Research. There is absolutely nothing about this," snaps Ferre, going to grab a cloth to clean a table.  
"Combeferre, chill. We're preparing for the march- wait, you're coming, right?"  
She shrugs at Enjolras, who's now pointing his finger at a brightly coloured rainbow poster.  
"Yep. Unfortunately, I will be the only single one there."  
Ferre groans, as Enjolras’ forehead crinkles into a worried frown.  
"You have Grantaire. Joly and Bossuet have Chetta and themselves. Cosette, Marius and Eponine have each other. I have absolutely nobody.”  
Enjolras looks from the counter, right at Ferre, slumped in a chair at this point.  
“Dani, I-”  
“Yes? Would you like to say something, Enjolras?”  
Ferre turns her head, glaring ever so slightly. Enjolras stays boldly out, glaring at her.  
“Dani, listen. We all have soulmates. We find them one way or another,” says Enjolras, going to take a seat in front of a grouching Combeferre, head in a book.  
“So? How’d you find Grantaire, huh? It wasn’t that easy, I kn-”  
“Dani, listen to me. Grantaire and I shared a tattoo. It’s not as easy as it looks, be serious.”  
“Well, I don’t have a tattoo. I have this stupid red string. Nobody else has a red string connected to their soulmate, huh?”  
“Not as far as I’ve seen, no.”  
Combeferre shuts her book, as Enjolras gives up, retreats behind the counter, and starts swirling cream on the top of a hot chocolate.  
“Listen, Ferre, that’s not the point of the march anyway- we’re marching to protest for reform of the laws, isn’t that right?”  
“I’m just saying, Enj, it’s almost Valentine’s day, and-”  
Ferre suddenly jumps up and puts her hand to her head, being dramatic.  
“-oh no! A single! Be gone!”  
She turns her head slowly to the counter, where Enjolras is just concernedly looking at her. As soon as she’s fully facing him, her jaw drops and she makes a ‘bleuuuuurgh’ noise, and deadpans, still with her hand to her head. Enjolras is about to faceplant the fucking bench.  
Instead, he just stands there, his hand holding his head up.  
“Combeferre, please. It’s almost your shift,” groans Enjolras.

Ferre’s making a coffee when another customer walks in, a stumbling mess of curled brown hair (Two very pretty pink clips too, taste, thinks Combeferre, from the sight she sees from her peripheral vision) and flannel shirt. They stumble up to the counter, balancing a textbook on their head, tripping and making the textbook fly from their head and hit Ferre’s as the customer falls over the counter a bit. Combeferre has never, ever seen a customer this chaotic in her entire life. She glares straight at the person’s face and throws the textbook back at them.  
“Hi, good evening or whatever, welcome to the Musain, what do you want, blah, blah, bla-”  
“One small coffee, extra sugar please.”  
Fuck the pink clips that made them look pretty earlier. They’re a frat boy, right? Only frat boys order coffees with extra suga-  
Her thoughts are rudely interrupted by a cough, which is the customer trying to get her attention.  
“Oh, I’m sorry. Sure. Name? For the cup.”  
“I’m aware it’s for the cup,” they say, placing a five-dollar bill on the counter. “My name is Courfeyrac. Alex Courfeyrac, but I prefer my surname-”  
“New customer?”  
“Yep.”  
Ferre almost snorts. New customers. Of course they ordered a coffee, extra sugar. Never mind the frat boy thought- this explained it. Only new customers and frat boys order coffees like this. She automatically reaches for a pen, and while looking down, only then does she notice- red string. Fuck. It’s her soulmate.  
Courfeyrac doesn’t seem to notice though- they’re wrapped up in their own world reading (skimming) the textbook. They flip through, as Combeferre continues making the coffee mindlessly, eyes wide.  
That is my soulmate? Excuse me, Ethereal, Cosmic, Great Being, what kind of joke is this? I would have hoped to get someone slightly more… philosophical. Like, studious and all. Y’know- someone who understands me?!  
Before she knows it, she’s handing over the coffee to Courf.  
“Thanks.”  
They grin, before noticing the red string.  
“Hey, we have a red string tied to our fingers. Does that-”  
“No. Have a nice day, Courfeyrac. We’re closing,” Ferre snaps, refusing to acknowledge that her soulmate seemed like a huge dick or something, from what she’d seen (which was enough).  
They look good, they have no brains. Great Ethereal Being, I don’t approve.  
Combeferre starts to walk towards the door, getting the keys out.  
“I… guess I’ll see you around?”  
“Maybe. Please, we’re shutting.”  
“Okay, okay.”  
Courfeyrac raises their hands into the air.  
“I’m just saying, the red string- I-”  
“Thank you and good night.”  
Ferre groans a bit and shoves them out the door slightly, shutting the door and going to the backroom to go put her apron away and get dressed to go home.

Fucking hell. I’m overthinking. Again. Dear lord, where did I go wrong?!  
Combeferre frowns at her laptop. She can’t stop thinking about it. The encounter with her soulmate. How rudely she’d pushed them away. How they’d never come to the Musain again because of how shitty she was, how they would hate her fore-  
Snap out of it, Dani.  
Ferre grumbles and shuffles a bit in her seat, thunking her head on the keyboard, resulting in a keysmash on her screen as she groans, black hair falling forward over her head.  
"Damn you Courfeyrac," she mutters.

The second she gets back to work at the cafe the next day, Enjolras is standing right at the door.  
"Let me guess- I'm fired?"  
He sighs, looking right at her.  
"Combeferre, why would you think that? You're wearing full-black. It's the march-"  
"-and coincidentally it's Valentine's day too. Want to add anything?"  
Ferre frowns. Ah yes, a gentle reminder she has scared off her soulmate. Very pleasant. She twiddles with her pinkie, where the red string blinks out at her like a constant reminder too.  
“Combeferre, just- try and chill, okay? Enjoy the march as best as a march can be enjoyed.”


	2. In Which Combeferre Meets Her Soulmate (again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hello! this chapter's a bit shorter as the next chapter will be waaaaay longer, and also schoolwork's catching up to me. thanks for understanding!

The Amis are out in the streets together. It’s a name Enjolras has been fond of calling their small group of cafe workers by day, activists by night (or something along those lines).

Jehan cheers from their spot on Bahorel’s shoulders, beaming. Combeferre just glances at them, and then looks down at her finger. Again. This time, however, the string isn’t floppy- it’s stretching, far into the crowd, somewhere she can’t see.

_ I shouldn’t go. I know I shouldn’t. They hate me. _

Combeferre freezes up. Enjolras pats her shoulder with one hand, his other hand gripping Grantaire’s tightly.

“Dani?”   
Ferre looks up, and raises her pinky.

“Dani, listen to me. I can’t see the string. I can’t help you.”

She pouts slightly, but nods and instead of staying there, with the group, she runs. 

She runs as fast as she can, wind blowing against her face, running so fast she can’t see where she’s going until she bumps into the very person she’s running to and lands on the floor.

Courfeyrac.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry, I-”

She looks up, only to meet their eyes. They hold out a hand to her to help her out.

“Oh- hello! I didn’t ask your name last time, nor check your name tag, uh, I-”

“No. It’s okay. I- I gotta go.”

Ferre stumbles up and brushes herself off, leaving Courfeyrac’s hand hanging in the air. They look upset, disappointed- as Ferre starts to walk off. She turns back for one second, and she can’t help but feel guilty. She’s abandoning her soulmate. But she can’t go back. They hate her enough. It feels like the world has stopped turning around them, and it feels like everyone has stopped, frozen in time. She turns again, back to the Amis, until she hears their voice ring out.

“Wait!”

Their arm is reached out to her, the string standing out against their pale skin, as tears stream down their face.

Ferre melts, and for a second, she has half a good mind to go back, to go comfort them, to tell them everything’s going to be okay. 

She doesn’t go back.

The world continues moving, as Combeferre disappears back into the sea of people to look for the Amis, on the verge of tears, praying for her red string to go away.

And when Enjolras goes over to her and notices the tears, how she’s almost breaking into pieces, he puts his arms around her and tells her it’ll be alright. He does what she should have done for Courfeyrac, and instead of calming her down, Combeferre is crying. Fresh tears fall down her face, as she sobs into Enjolras’ shoulder as a worried Grantaire pats her back.

“I’m sorry, Enjolras.”

He just hugs her tightly. Combeferre looks at her finger again- the red string has gone limp. Courfeyrac’s gone. 

“So much for a happily ever after.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!  
> tumblr: cosettescorneroftheinternet.tumblr.com


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